In the wake of some recent congressional resignations, House Speaker Mike Johnson had two open seats to fill on the House Intelligence Committee. These are important slots — the panel’s members have access to some of the nation’s most important and highly sensitive secrets — and it was incumbent on the Louisiana Republican to choose wisely.
He did not. Politico reported this afternoon:
Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday tapped two members to serve on the prestigious House Intelligence Committee — and one of them is not only a former chair of the House Freedom Caucus, but also has publicly tangled with the FBI. The GOP leader named Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.) to the panel, which has oversight over the intelligence community and access to highly sensitive information, as well as Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Texas).
The phrase “you’ve got to be kidding me” keeps coming to mind.
Jackson’s name might sound familiar, though not for any flattering reasons. The Texas Republican came to national prominence during his tenure as Donald Trump’s White House physician, when Jackson delivered cringe-worthy, overly effusive assessments of the then-president’s health.
Trump then announced that he wanted Jackson to join his presidential cabinet as the secretary of Veterans Affairs — despite his obvious lack of qualifications — but he faced bipartisan opposition after multiple reports surfaced about Jackson’s alleged pattern of substance abuse, harassing women, and creating a “toxic“ work environment. The White House pulled his nomination soon after.
Jackson was nevertheless elected to Congress, where he immediately became one of the House’s most unhinged members, routinely appearing in conservative media peddling bizarre claims.
Donald Trump, however, reportedly wanted the Texan on the Intelligence Committee, and the House speaker apparently complied.
But Pennsylvania’s Scott Perry is an even more extraordinary appointment.
Perry might not be the highest profile member of the House GOP conference, but when it comes to the party’s 2020 election scandal, it’s difficult to overstate how significant the former House Freedom Caucus chairman’s role has been. Remember the infamous Dec. 21, 2020, White House meeting focused on the Republican scheme to overturn the last presidential election? Perry was among the participants. Remember when the bipartisan Jan. 6 committee pointed to members who allegedly sought presidential pardons? Perry was on that list, too.
Remember when Cassidy Hutchinson testified that Donald Trump talked with allies about going to the Capitol on Jan. 6? She said Perry was among the people the then-president talked to about this. Remember the allegations that then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows literally set fire to papers in his office after a meeting with a congressional Republican? The lawmaker in question was Perry.
Remember when the public learned of radical text messages Meadows received from Republican allies in the runup to Jan. 6, including one House member who pushed unusually bonkers conspiracy theories about votes being changed by “Italian satellites”? Perry was that member.
Remember when the FBI seized a member of Congress’ phone as part of the federal election investigation? That, too, was Perry.
Politico reported last month that the idea of Perry joining the Intelligence Committee members was giving the panel’s current members “debilitating heartburn.” Speaker Johnson apparently didn’t care.
PunchBowl News’ John Bresnahan noted that Perry now will have oversight over the FBI’s counter-intelligence programs, even during Perry’s ongoing lawsuit against the Justice Department related to FBI agents seizing his cellphone.
What could possibly go wrong?
This post updates our related earlier coverage.
